Dharamshala: The Central Tibetan Administration welcomes the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s (HFAC) approval of the Tibet bill, H.R. 533 Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act. The HFAC voted unanimously at a markup hearing today on 29 November 2023 to approve the bipartisan “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act”, also known as the Resolve Tibet Act.
The HFAC-approved bill is an amended House version of the legislation introduced earlier by Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, alongside Senators Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Todd Young, R-Ind. The bill is a reiteration of the US official policy of supporting direct negotiation between the People’s Republic of China and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representatives or with democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan people, without preconditions, in order to resolve the Tibet-China conflict.
Following nine rounds of dialogues between China and His Holiness’s representatives from 2002-2010, Beijing has stalled the dialogue and instead conducted a series of colonial policies and programs in Tibet to annihilate the Tibetan language, religion, culture, and way of life posing an existential threat to the very identity of the Tibetan people.
The bill dismisses the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) claim of Tibet being a part of China since ancient times as historically inaccurate, and it empowers the State Department to actively counter China’s disinformation about Tibet’s history, culture and institutions including the institution of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering visited Washington, DC from October 16 to 20 this year in an effort to move forward the Resolve Tibet Act and he expressed high hopes for the passage of the Tibet bill in the 118th US Congress. Sikyong says, “The PRC’s claim over Tibet as a part of China is fictitious as it lacks historical truth. We Tibetans have suffered enormously under the PRC government over many decades, yet we have always sought to settle our differences through nonviolent and peaceful dialogue.”
Sikyong further asserts, “This bill will allow the United States to address its consistent calls for dialogue with more force and urgency while giving voice to Tibetans in their own country. This will not only help the cause of Tibetans, but also champion democracy, dialogue, and the cause of peace around the globe. Therefore, we are confident that this bill will advance through both houses of Congress and onto the President’s desk.”
“We thank HFAC Chair Michael McCaul, ranking member Gregory Meeks, and all the members of the committee for approving the Tibet bill, which builds on the incredible bipartisan support that the United States has always shown for our just cause.”
Click here to access the proceedings of the bill approval on YouTube.